


You Bring Out The Child In Me

by Kaimu



Series: The Retirement Series [1]
Category: Swimming RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-08
Updated: 2012-12-08
Packaged: 2017-11-20 15:31:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/586891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaimu/pseuds/Kaimu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shortly after his retirement, Michael breaks his leg. There's only one person in the world who's able to see the fun in it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Bring Out The Child In Me

Michael is sick of the pity in everyone's eyes. The words to console him or the lack of them.

Everyone who came to visit him in the hospital either ignored the fact that he had a cast from his thigh to his right foot,but they did glance over it cautiously once in a while as if his leg would start mutating any minute; or, Michael didn't know which one was worse, they started cooing over him.

Michael hated both of the reactions. So much that he almost wished that everyone would just stay away and leave him alone. Almost.

That's when Ryan came. Ryan, with his ridiculous huge smile and wild curls, looking for all the world like he was going to a party instead of visiting his boyfriend in the hospital. Yes, boyfriend. How did that happen, huh?

That story is for another time.

Anyway, so Ryan enters with his ridiculous smile on his face, strutting over to the bed and plopping down on the edge, right beside the casted leg, without as much as a hello.

Michael stares at him, but Ryan is digging through his pockets, obviously searching for something, then brings out a black marker and holds it up triumphantly. Michael frowns.

"Ry?" he asks cautiously, "What are you doing?"

Ryan focuses on Michael's casted leg and says, "Hold still, ok?"

Michael rolls his eyes and is about to snap that he can't exactly move that easily with his leg in a cast, especially not said leg, but the words die on his lips when he sees Ryan bend down over his leg, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration and the point of the marker on his cast.

Then, Ryan starts moving the marker and Michael knows what this is. Ryan is drawing, actually drawing, on his cast and he can't help but let out a snort.

"What are you? 5?"

Ryan looks up at him and grins, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Maybe 3 and a half."

Michael can't help the smile, his special-for-Ryan-smile, from appearing on his face. "I can tell."

"You love me, though."

Michael can feel something inside him flutter, he refuses to call it butterflies, and he looks straight into Ryan's eyes, crooks his finger at him and waits until Ryan's face is level with his own, then pulls him down so their lips are touching.

"Yeah," he whispers against Ryan's lips, "I really do."

The smile that appears on Ryan's face, the one that makes his eyes sparkle so brightly it almost hurts to look at them, lights up the whole cold hospital room and Michael can't help it, he has to kiss those smiling lips, so he does just that.

They rest their foreheads against each other after they break the kiss, open their eyes and smile.

"I brought some colors too."

Michael bursts out laughing, because, _**seriously**_...leave it to Ryan Lochte to start about drawing and coloring after a kiss like that.

"Cool. You're gonna turn my cast into a rainbow, aren't you?"

"Well, you can't exactly leave it white, can you? That's so boring."

"Maybe I like boring."

"No you don't," Ryan says, grinning. "You wouldn't be with me if you liked boring."

"I can't argue with that."

"Now shut up and let me brighten up your leg."

Michael holds up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm not stopping you."

Ryan smiles and kisses Michael quickly before sliding back down, bringing out his colored markers, and focusing on the leg again.

Michael stares down at his coloring boyfriend and literally doesn't move a muscle. Ryan looks up at him after a while.

"You can help me if you like."

"Nah," Michael answers, "I'm not half as good at drawing as you are. Plus, it would be kind of awkward to draw on my own leg."

Ryan shrugs, "Your choice."  Then he goes back to work and Michael goes back to staring.

Ryan helps him to turn around in any direction he needs to, because he's seriously drawing over all the sides of the cast, and Michael just goes along with it.He should let his boyfriend have a little fun.

He ends up back on his back at the end, lust like he started, while Ryan makes the 'finishing touch', as he calls it himself. Then Ryan stops and looks up at Michael, biting his lower lip nervously.

"What do you think?"

The first thing Michael sees is just a bunch of colors so he's aboout to make a remark of 'well, it's colorful'; but then he has a closer look and sees that Ryan has actually written something in big, black, blocked letters. He thinks he literally stops breathing when he sees what it says.

_"Reezy & MP. Forever and ever and ever and ever..........Eternally."_

In between two giant red hearts.

It's so incredibly cheesy, but yet so sweet and Michael just doesn't know what to say so he just stares and stares. He doesn't even realize he's crying until he feels Ryan's finger on his cheek, wiping the tear away.

"Mike?" Ryan asks softly, a little worried. "Are you ok?"

Michael blinks up at his boyfriend and smiles. "It's perfect."

The corners of Ryan's mouth quirk up into a shy smile. "You think so?"

"I know so."

Ryan reaches out towards Michael's hand and Michael turns his hand so the palm's up and entwines their fingers. He squeezes Ryan's hand and gets a squeeze back. They look into each other's eyes and smile.

"You really are such a child, you know that?"

"What if I am?" Ryan asks, lying down and shifting so he can rest his head on Michael's shoulder. "You still love me, don't you?"

"I think I've made that clear already."

"I wouldn't mind being told again."

"Told or showed?" Michael asks, raising his eyebrow.

Ryan grins, "How about both?"

Michael grins back, then tugs at Ryan curls until he turns his head up so they can kiss. But first, Michael has something to say of course.

"I love you, Ryan Lochte."

Ryan smiles and Michael kisses it off his face. Ryan kisses him back with his child-like enthusiasm.

Michael would never want it, want him, in any other way.


End file.
